The applause in Hall A of the University of Hamburg does not want to end. Guest speaker Percy Schmeiser, farmer from Canada, bows, visibly moved. The 78-year-old seed breeder has been farming for 60 years and fights to preserve non-GMO seed diversity, even if he doesn’t look like it in his humble way. In a lawsuit lasting years, he successfully opposed the American seed company Monsanto: his rapeseed had been contaminated with genetically modified seeds due to pollen and he should pay a fine to the company because it is the owner of the genetic patent. He emphatically draws attention to a negative trend: Worldwide, fewer and fewer corporations with their patents are controlling seed production, in which farmers are becoming more and more dependent on hybrid seeds. These so-called “disposable” plants are not suitable for re-seeding. A farmer can no longer obtain seeds for sowing from his own plants as he used to. He has to buy the new seeds from one of the corporations.
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Key to strong, resilient plants
A development that Thomas Sannmann, Demeter farmer in the Vier- und Marschlanden near Hamburg, is just as unwilling to accept as the insidious introduction of genetic engineering. For the dedicated owner of a large vegetable grower, biodiversity and breeding is the key to robust crops. He supports what has actually been a matter of course in traditional agriculture for centuries: the cultivation of seed-resistant varieties with which new seeds can be obtained. “Only in this way is it possible in the long term to obtain plants that are resistant to pests and diseases and produce stable yields even without the use of chemicals,” explains Thomas Sannmann. It is very important to him to bring the variety of flavors back to the consumer with the help of old types of vegetables. His “Vierländer Platte” tomato was grown as early as the 18th century. His customers love their typical sweet and sour tomato taste and the slightly flat shape. Eckart Brandt also regrets that many varieties are no longer available. The 59-year-old organic fruit farmer from the Altes Land near Stade therefore cultivates long-forgotten apple, pear, plum and cherry varieties in his “Boomgarden”. His orchard is a natural gene bank for hundreds of fruit varieties. Eckart Brandt always saw fruit growing as a political issue: “A lot of chemicals are used in farming. Instead of the robust varieties, there are chemically treated standard fruits that are only supposed to bring high profits.” He is firmly convinced that many sprays would never have been used if more robust varieties had been cultivated. “Nature has given us an enormous amount of genetic material. We should also use that,” demands Eckart Brandt.
Incentive for research and inventions
Incentive for research and development
In contrast to this, however, are large corporations, which are increasingly applying for patents on seeds. What was originally intended to stimulate invention and research eliminated competition and choice. “Big corporations abuse patent law to secure monopoly rights to plants, animals and food,” says Christoph Then, patent rights adviser at Greenpeace. Just ten corporations now control two-thirds of the global seed market. For European farmers, this has not yet had any far-reaching effects. However, that could change quickly with a fundamental decision by the European Patent Office. It’s about the patent on broccoli and the shriveled tomato. Both products come from conventional cultivation.
Patent on ketchup and gravy tomato
Broccoli is a new variety. For the so-called shriveled tomato, common tomatoes were crossed with wild ones. The result is a fruit with reduced water content, particularly suitable for ketchup and sauces. Various technical aids were used in breeding. They should be enough to turn breeding into an invention. If these patents are confirmed, companies will be able to patent seeds, plants and the edible parts of plants as their invention with little technical means in the future.
With the result that, for example, these two plants are no longer allowed to be grown and marketed by just anyone. Anyone who does it anyway has to reckon with lawsuits and fines like Percy Schmeiser. Farmers’ associations and environmental organizations describe such patents on seeds and livestock as “bio-piracy”. In a global appeal to be handed over to governments in March this year, the international No Patents on Seeds coalition is calling for a ban on such intellectual property rights on plants and animals. As long as such patents are allowed, farmers, breeders and food manufacturers around the world will become increasingly dependent. So it’s important that people like Percy Schmeiser bravely oppose it. Together with his wife Louise, he received the Alternative Nobel Prize in 2007.
For the diversity of varieties on the web
For the diversity of varieties on the web
Organic farming promotes diversity of varieties. Buy “organic” often or support the following campaigns and associations:
- Are you looking for an old apple variety? From the middle of the year you can find them , graft them yourself and plant them in your garden.
- The “Future Foundation for Agriculture” is committed to the preservation and further development of old grain and vegetable varieties.
- The film “David vs. Monsanto” shows the resistance of Percy Schmeiser. The purchase of the DVD supports his fund with two euros.
- Participation in the No Patents on Seeds Coalition’s global appea .
